Book 2: Kakashi's Muse
by Goddess Hanyuu
Summary: Sequel to "The Lost Uzumaki". Naruto has an older sister: Kaede who looks just like Naruto's Sexy Jutsu . Full summary on the first story inside. Kakashi is reunited with his true love, his best friend, his muse. But what if his true love turns into his worst enemy? Kakashi x OC Rated M for later chapters. Romance, hurt and some humour inbetween Kishimoto-style! .
1. Prologue: The Letter

**A/N: Why, hello there! **

**Some of you might know me from this story's prequel, "Book 1: The Lost Uzumaki". To those of you who have not read the prequel, I highly recommend you read that one first.  
****  
If you do that, please stop here, as this Author's Note contains major spoilers on the first story. xD**

**But of course, if you don't feel like reading the prequel, that's okay, I'll give you a brief summary:**

**Naruto has an elder sister named Kaede. She and the other children of Konoha were evacuated during the attack of the Kyuubi. Minato and Kushina having died in battle, Kakashi (whom regarded the then 4-year-old Kaede as his little sister) tried to find her, but was told she was murdered in the first of a long series of brutal murders.  
Fifteen years later, Kaede returned to Konoha. At first, she blamed Kakashi for all the horrible things she had been through in her life (mainly sexual and mental torment), but as things cleared up for both of them, they started to grow more and more towards one another.  
As Kakashi found out more about the 15-year-long murder chain, he discovered that the murderer was none other than Kaede. Kaede having gone through horrible ordeals since she had been evacuated, she had created an alter ego to protect her. Somehow she knew about this cold-hearted manslaying other personality, but feared it so much she had never spoken about it. Not even to Kakashi.  
When Kaede was kidnapped by an old 'acquaintance' of hers, she shifted personalities and killed him as well. Kakashi and Naruto found her in this state, and she attacked them but failed to hit them. Kakashi managed to get her back to her usual self.  
Kakashi reported the events to the Hokage, and was assigned along with Naruto to escort Kaede to a special mental institution in the Village of Colours, all the way up north in the Land of Earth.  
Despite everything that happened, love had bloomed between Kakashi and Kaede. Kakashi promised her to wait for her and come for her as soon as she could leave the clinic.**

With the two lovers and the two siblings parting, our previous story ended, and 4 months later, a new story began.

We start at a few days after Pain's attack on Konoha.

**I hope you'll like it!**

* * *

"You called for me, Shizune-san?"

The woman was looking exhausted. She must have been caring for Tsunade 24/7. Her blood-shot eyes were starting to have less and less hope in them with every day the Hokage, her best friend, had still not awoken.

"Kakashi-san," she said, sounding hoarse from lack of sleep. "Yes, this letter arrived for you this morning… Umm…" She searched her pockets for a moment before she went back into Tsunade's tent. She came back out, holding an unopened letter in her hand. She handed it over to him.

"It's err, from Kaede-san's clinic," she explained, followed by a quiet yawn.

_Kaede…?_

Kakashi unsealed the letter and opened it.

"_Hatake-san,_

_We have heard about the recent events in your village. We hope all is well with you._

_The reason I am sending you this letter is because your presence is required at our institute. Uzumaki-san is doing well, but there are certain complications regarding her progress. She has refused to enter the next stage of her treatment without you, Hatake-san, in her presence._

_The details are strictly confidential; therefore I cannot elaborate on this outside of the institute. For Uzumaki-san's sake, I urge you to help us by temporarily standing by her. I cannot say how long your presence will be required just yet._

_One final request: please do not let Uzumaki Naruto in on this. Uzumaki-san worries about him, but does not want him to focus on anything but his duties._

_I hope to see or hear from you soon._

_Best regards,_

_Ueno Kenji_"

Kakashi looked up from the letter, into Shizune's dark, exhausted looking eyes.

"Kaede needs me," he tried to say as calmly as possible.

Shizune stared at him for a while before she spoke up: "… Kakashi-san, you do realize you might become… become the new Hokage, don't you?"

"I'm well aware of that," said Kakashi. "However, I have not lost hope yet for Tsunade-sama."

"Of course not! She will come back to us! She will—" Shizune stopped, wiping a tear from her eye. "Even so, you have to stay stand-by to fill in for her if we need a Hokage before she wakes up."

Kakashi gazed at the poor woman, thinking about his duty to the village. She was right. He couldn't just up and leave the village… But then again, he also had a duty towards Kaede.

"What if I stay in touch with you while I'm there?" asked Kakashi. "If I'm needed, you can send Sai to pick me up – it'll take less than two hours if he flies me back. It might only be for a few days. Please, Shizune-san. Think about Kaede. She is the Fourth's daughter. And Naruto's sister. If he is going to have to worry about her, he might not perform well when he really needs to."

Shizune rubbed her eyes.

"Very well," she said. "But you will have you return if the elders decide to make you the next Hokage."

"I will," said Kakashi firmly, making a bow. "Thank you, Shizune-san."

And after that, he immediately went back to his tent to pack the stuff he needed. Even though he meant what he said just now, another one of his reasons was that he might really need to see her before he would go to the war that was just bound to happen after everything that happened here.

Seeing her again might give him the energy and hope he needed.

* * *

**A/N: This is only the prologue, of course. The first real chapter should be up soon, I'm almost finished with it.**

**I really hope this story will be as successful as its prequel! ^^**

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Reunited

**A/N: Holy cow! Only the prologue was out and already 12 Favourites, 11 Alerts and a Community submission? ASHAGDKJHAVDBAVGHAVCFHDVA I CANNOT EVEN...!**

***Cough* Sorry. Just needed to get that out there. xD**

**But seriously, I can't thank you people enough! I hope you'll continue to enjoy this story as much as I do writing it! X3**

* * *

"Hatake-san, welcome!"

Kakashi closed the door of Ueno's office behind him.

"I understand you need me quite urgently," said Kakashi. "Please tell me what is wrong with Kae… with Uzumaki."

"Nothing is wrong with Kaede-chan," said Ueno quickly, rising from behind his desk. "It's just that… We need her to make the next step in her progress. The problem is that… this is quite a step to make."

"Please tell me what it is," said Kakashi. He wanted to know what he could do to help her, but moreover he just wanted to see her as soon as possible.

"You see…" started Ueno, "… we need her to shift personalities."

Kakashi had to take a moment to let that sink in. "Excuse me?" he then asked.

"See, we've never met this other personality," explained Ueno. "During her stay here, she hasn't shifted personalities even once. She is afraid to let this 'other Kaede-chan' take over her. However, she says she wants to give it a try if you are by her side, Hatake-san."

Kakashi shook his head. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't understand," he said. "Why do you need her other personality to show herself? I thought you were helping her get rid of that other personality so that she can live among people again."

"The first step in overcoming, Hatake-san, is facing the problem," said Ueno with a serious face. "But Kaede-chan doesn't want to face her alter ego. She is too afraid of what might happen. But you have faced her alter ego multiple times, and she has never managed to harm you, is that correct?"

"… Yes," replied Kakashi.

"So will you help us, please, Hatake-san?" asked the old man.

"I will," said Kakashi. "Anything to help Uzumaki."

"Good, very good," said Ueno, a lot more cheerful now. "I'll elaborate on the matter later; I think you want to see Kaede-chan, am I wrong? I'll show you to her room. Oh, and please remove your forehead protector. There are a few patients here that might get provoked by it."

* * *

The two approached a nurse who was clearly having trouble with an upset patient.

"Get out! _OUT_!" Kakashi heard in a very familiar voice. "I can't take it anymore! Get out!"

"Uzumaki-san…"

This was Kaede's room? What the hell was going on here?

The nurse backed away, out of the room. Despite being yelled at, she kept forcing a smile.

"P-please calm down," she said nervously, but instead, she got a pillow thrown at her.

"Stop treating me like I'm crazy! I'm _not_ crazy! When will you finally get it?"

Kakashi decided to take immediate action when she threw an orange at the nurse. With stealth, he appeared behind Kaede, hooking his arms underneath her armpits to prevent her from throwing more things. Kaede didn't see him, and started to struggle heavily in his grip.

"Let go! _Let me go_!" she yelled. "I mean it, let me go or I'll—"

"Or you'll do what?" asked Kakashi in a low, soft voice in her ear. Kaede froze immediately. It even looked like she paused her breathing.

Kakashi looked at the doorway, where the nurse stood with the pillow and the orange in her hands, and Ueno blinking at him.

"I'll take it from here," said Kakashi with a smile.

"Yes, thank you," said Ueno quickly. "We'll give you some privacy."

The nurse quickly put the pillow back on Kaede's bed and put the orange on the table. She made a bow and closed the door behind her.

For the next few seconds, all he could hear were footsteps fading in the hallways, then there was silence.

After a while, he could hear her soft, shaky breathing as she started to tremble against him.

"Have you calmed down yet?" he whispered in her ear.

"Y-you actually came here…" Her voice was shaky; she was crying.

"Of course," replied Kakashi. "Whenever you need me, I'll be by your side. You know that."

He really had to fight the urge to feel up her body now that he had her in his grip like this. It had been so long since he'd been intimate with her…

He loosened his grip and Kaede immediately squirmed away before she turned around and held him in a tight embrace.

"I've missed you so much!" she cried.

Kakashi returned the hug, pressing her against him as tightly as he could. She was so soft… He'd missed this. He'd missed _her_.

"Now are you going to tell me what's wrong?" he asked caringly, stroking her head.

Kaede sobbed. "I'm just so sick of this place," she said. "They keep up those fake smiles at me. They treat me like I'm some kind of time bomb that could explode any time…" She looked into his eye for the first time with teary eyes. "I'm not crazy, Kakashi," she said. "I'm not crazy…"

"I know," replied Kakashi, looking intensely into her ocean blue eyes. "I know you're not crazy." Her hair was soft under his palm. Kaede blushed, which made him smile.

"I've missed you, Kakashi," said Kaede softly.

Kakashi lowered his head and planted a masked kiss on her lips. "Me too," he said. He noticed that his heart was racing from that one single gesture. After missing her for over four months, he was longing for her. But he wasn't supposed to think about that. Not here. Not now.

Kaede seemed to think the same. She stared at his mask; she probably wanted to remove it. But she bit her bottom lip and looked away. Kakashi couldn't help but feel some kind of distance between them since the last time he saw her.

She took a step back, out of his embrace, creating some space between them. "Kakashi, umm…" she started, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand, "… do you know why I wanted you here?"

"Yes, I know," replied Kakashi.

Kaede nodded. "I see," she muttered. "It's just that… I'm afraid of what might happen and you've dealt with… the other… a few times already, so I thought if you were here to just—"

"Kaede," he interrupted her, cupping her cheeks. "Relax. I won't let anything happen to you or anyone here."

"I know," said Kaede, though she still sounded anxious. "I know. And I know my Chakra has been sealed, but still… what if the other is still dangerous without it? What if she knows how to break the seal?"

"Nothing will happen, Kaede," said Kakashi firmly. "I won't let it."

"Right," replied Kaede, forcing a smile. "I'm sorry. I'm just really nervous. I'm not even sure I can shift personalities at will…"

Kakashi stroked her cheeks with his thumbs, feeling her face heat up under his palms.

"I'm sure they know a way to get the other one out," he said.

Kaede took another step back. Kakashi withdrew his hands.

"I… I don't think we should… be this close… or touch," said Kaede, looking away. "It's not that I don't like it," she quickly added, "it's just that I shouldn't be distracted. I'm making such good progress and—"

"It's ok," said Kakashi. "I understand. I won't touch you." Truth was, this was only making it extra hard for him to hold back. Just a few seconds ago, he was grateful that he got to touch her at least. His hands were still itching for her. But he had to restrain himself, for both their sakes.

"I'm sorry," said Kaede softly, bowing her head.

"You don't have to keep apologizing," said Kakashi with a smile. "Just get better soon so I can take you home."

Kaede gave a slow nod.

"I should head back to the director," said Kakashi. Much as he wanted to spend more time with her, right now he was afraid of losing control over himself.

"Okay," said Kaede softly. "I'll see you later then."

Kakashi nodded, forcing another smile. But as soon as he left the room and closed the door behind him, he felt a stinging pain in his chest. Even though he finally got to see her again, the distance between them seemed larger than ever. A distance that was forced by restraint. And he wasn't even sure that feeling was mutual. What if Kaede had changed her mind about them during her stay here? If that were really the case, would he be able to cope with it?

* * *

Kaede stared at the closed door.

_That smile just now… was forced, wasn't it?_ she asked herself. She could tell from his eye: the only visible part of his face. Of course, she never meant to hurt him. But she was doing this for him and Naruto. She wanted to focus on finishing her therapy as soon as possible, so that she could spend the rest of her life being with the man she loved the most.

She touched her ear with the tips of her fingers. The sensation she felt when Kakashi whispered in her ear just now was still there. It made her remember when she was almost intimate with Kakashi not too long before they arrived here. He had taken off her top and bra, and played with her upper body. But his body was still injured from a fight he had had prior to that, and they could not continue.

She felt her face turn burning hot at the memory. She mentally scolded herself for already being distracted like this.

But seeing him again… she felt some of her strength and willpower come back.

_I will definitely get rid of you and get my life back_, she shouted. She was in the strange place in her mind where her other personality lived. And the other Kaede glared at her from the other side of the large mirror she was standing in front of. It hadn't changed a bit from when she had first met her other personality.

_**We'll see about that**_, replied her other self coldly. _**Did you notice how he couldn't keep his hands away from you?**_

_Of course_, said Kaede. _We haven't seen each other in over 4 months. I was holding him, as well._

_**If you ask me, he was really doing his best to restrain himself. It looked to me like he was hoping for more.**_

_He just missed me! I missed him, too!_

_**And that is why you're distancing yourself from him?**_

_That's because—_

_**You were afraid he wouldn't hold back if you continued to hold each other like that. I can tell. I'm a part of you.**_

_No, you're not. And you're wrong about us. We are doing this to get rid of you, so that I can finally go back home._

_**Yet you're afraid to let me out. Do you really think you can get rid of me with such a controversial attitude?**_

_This entire world will be better off without you. And I'm going to make it happen._

_**Then who will rescue you if that man really loses control of himself and hurts you? Believe me, he has strong lustrous feelings for you. And he won't keep this up for long.**_

_You're wrong._

_**I'm not wrong. You know I'm not. You've seen it, too. You're just denying it.**_

_YOU'RE WRONG!_

She fell back into reality when someone knocked on her door.

"Kaede-san, it's time for your therapy session," she heard the nurse from before call from behind the door.

Kaede opened the door, and found the woman smiling at her again.

"Thanks," she said. She followed the nurse to her psychiatrist's office. "Umm, I'm sorry I got mad at you earlier. And for throwing stuff at you."

"That's alright," replied the nurse cheerfully. "Though I urge you to talk about it with Sorano-sensei."

"Okay," sighed Kaede.

"Hatake-san will join you in this session," added the nurse.

Kaede stopped. "Already?" she asked. Her heart just skipped a beat or two.

"Yes," said the nurse. "Ueno-sensei wants him to attend every therapy session for as long as needed."

Kaede picked up her pace again. _So soon_, she thought. _I don't know if I'm ready for this yet. Surely they don't expect me to bring the other me out right away, right?_

She felt her newly regained confidence falter more and more with each step.

_Right?_

* * *

**A/N: A moment of panic is an excellent troll cliffie. xD Sorry about that! I'll update as soon as possible~!**


	3. Tensions and Revelations

**A/N: It's only been 9 days? Wow, I think I've broken a personal record. O.o**

* * *

"Kaede-san, come in."

Another forced smile. She was so sick and tired of this. Her therapist, Sorano Tori, was a beautiful and kind young woman; that was not the point. But why did she always have to force that smile, and so obviously, too?

Kakashi was already inside. When he looked at her, she quickly looked away. She didn't know why she did that.

"_He's really doing his best to restrain himself. He wants more."_

_That's not true_, retorted Kaede at the memory. _And even if it were true, that doesn't mean he doesn't love me for who I am._

She sat down on her usual seat. Kakashi was sitting a little ahead to observe.

"Tori-san," started Kaede. She still found it weird to address her therapist like that, but she had insisted. "You don't expect me to… do this… right away, do you?"

Tori sat down on the chair in front of her. "Do what?" she asked.

Kaede took a quick glance at Kakashi, who was watching her without blinking. "Y-you know what I mean," she said, looking back at her therapist.

"I need you to say it out loud," said Tori.

"I'd rather not," said Kaede softly.

"By not talking about it, you're denying your problem," said Tori. "But it's there, Kaede-san. You cannot run away from it forever.

Kaede took a deep breath. "I mean bringing out the other one," she said quickly. She felt ashamed to say this out loud, especially in front of Kakashi.

"Why would you not want to bring her out yet?" asked Tori.

"I'm not ready for it," replied Kaede immediately.

"You _are_ ready for it," said Tori calmly. "With Kakashi-san here, you will have nothing to worry about."

Kaede frowned at the part where she called Kakashi by his first name, but then again, that was their policy: only address each other by their first name.

"I know, but… I'm not even sure I can bring her out at will," said Kaede.

"It's okay if it doesn't work today," said Tori. "As long as you give it a try. We've been stuck on the same point for long enough now. Now, you told me a while back that the other personality came out whenever you were in danger or felt strong negative emotions. Maybe if you try and go back to one of those moments—"

"Excuse me," Kakashi interrupted her. Both Kaede and Tori looked at him. "What are you trying to make her do? Are you saying she'll need to feel miserable and remember something traumatizing, just to bring out her other self?"

"Kakashi-san," started Tori calmly. "Kaede-san has already made good progress here. She has almost fully accepted what has happened to her and she knows that nothing of the sort will happen to her here."

"But doing something like purposely making her feel like that…" protested Kakashi.

"Kakashi-san, with all due respect, I know what I am doing," said Tori. "Kaede-san will have to do this. Many patients before her have done this, and the vast majority of them are back with their families and living amongst other people in peace."

Kakashi bowed his head. "Forgive my rudeness," he then said quietly. He looked up, giving Kaede a worried glance.

Tori bowed her head to him with a smile, and then turned back to Kaede. "Kaede-san, do you have a memory in mind?"

Kaede looked at her and gave a slow nod.

"Good," said Tori. "Go ahead and lie down on the couch."

Kaede stood up and walked over to the couch. She carefully laid herself down.

"Now, close your eyes," said Tori. "And take a few deep breaths."

Kaede did as she was told, but did not feel less tense.

"Now, try and go back, and tell me what you see," said Tori quietly.

Kaede did not want to remember any of this. She had blocked these memories for so long that they were all very vague. The memory she had in mind was the clearest one, but thinking about it made her tremble all over again.

"Relax, you're not there now," said Tori. "You're safe here. It's just a memory."

Kaede gathered all her courage, knowing that Kakashi was in the room, and started to speak.

_The first thing I remember from that time was a voice. They'd drugged me, so I was half asleep at first._

_It was a young man's voice. I can't remember his name. He laid me down on an unfamiliar bed, then I heard him leave the room. It was quiet for a long time. I couldn't move, I couldn't see, I could only hear the sound of birds outside and smell a man's cologne on the sheets. By that time, I was well aware of what was going to happen to me. I was fourteen and had been kidnapped and kept for sex since about 6 months before that day._

_Suddenly, I heard footsteps approaching the room I was in. When I opened my eyes, my vision was blurry. And when I heard a familiar voice, I quickly pretended I was still asleep. It was the voice of a man I had been forced to get intimate with a couple of times: Ushio._

_He was in his forties, and came from a wealthy family. He was pretty buff for a businessman. He was their most regular 'customer' and I was his favourite. He appears very nice and gentle at first, but whenever I refused to do something, he'd beat me up and threaten me into not telling anyone. He claimed that he loved me and one day he'd make me his._

_I heard the door open, followed by a delighted gasp from that man. Then I heard the younger man say: "She's all yours for the rest of the day. You deserve a good day off."_

_And Ushio said: "When will she wake up?" … "I want to see the faces she makes."_

…

_Then I heard the door close and the voices and footsteps die away – he was probably leading the younger man out._

_My vision had become better and I regained some strength to move. I crawled off the bed and looked for the nearest window. It was so exhausting to walk, even though I was leaning on everything within my grasp. I climbed on top of the desk in front of his bedroom window, and opened the window. But just as soon as I managed to stick my leg through, Ushio was already back._

_And he laughed and said: "Hey, where do you think you're going?"_

_He grabbed me from my armpits and dragged me back inside. I panicked. I tried to scream, but I was still weak from the drug._

"_You could've fallen and hurt yourself," he said before he threw me back onto his bed. He grabbed my wrists and pinned me down. Even though he was smiling at me, I knew he was already running out of patience with me. Then he continued: "Today is my one free day of the year. You'd better behave."_

_I was too scared to move. He let go of one of my wrists and started rubbing my thigh. Then he kissed my neck and whispered to me that he was going to arrange right after today that I'd stay at his house forever. He said he was tired of sharing me with other men and seeing other guys' marks on me… and… that I was never, ever going to leave that house again. He said he'd have a room prepared for me, and that he'd lock me up when he was out._

_He didn't stop. He kept telling me what future he had planned out for me while he kept touching me, biting me, penetrating me, over and over again, it went on forever—_

"Kaede!"

* * *

Kakashi couldn't help but scream her name. He had sat down on the floor next to her and held her hand while she was talking. She probably hadn't even noticed it. But when she started to squeeze his hand, tighter and tighter, her breathing sped up and she started to transpire heavily, he could no longer hold it back. It was too awful to see her like this.

Kaede whimpered and gasped for air without opening her eyes.

"She's hyperventilating!" he exclaimed towards Tori. The therapist had already grabbed a paper bag, and she covered Kaede's mouth with it.

"Kaede, it's me," said Kakashi to his beloved. "You need to calm down. You're not with that man anymore. You won't see him ever again. You'll never be hurt like that again. I swear, Kaede."

Kaede's breathing stabilized and she slowly blinked her eyes open, dropping some tears as she did.

"I'm sorry," she spoke softly. "For a moment, I was…" She bit her bottom lip.

"Kaede-san, are you okay?" asked Tori.

Kakashi shot her a sharp look. "Was this supposed to happen?" he asked.

"It should have worked to get the other personality out," said Tori. "But clearly it didn't work. I'm sorry, Kaede-san."

Kaede shook her head.

"I'll be taking her back to her room," said Kakashi.

"Kakashi-san, the session is not over yet," said Tori.

"Does she look like she can continue this session?" asked Kakashi, gesturing at Kaede. "You may be the therapist, but I know Kaede, and she will _not_ continue this session in her current state."

"Kakashi—" Kaede started to protest, but Kakashi picked her up and carried her in his arms.

"No buts," he said strictly before he looked back at the woman. "You understand why I'm doing this?"

"Yes," said Tori, looking somewhat defeated. "And you're probably right. Please take care of her."

"I will," said Kakashi with a nod. He carried the startled Kaede outside the office and down the hallways. He felt so much rage building up inside his chest that he found himself striding forward faster and faster.

He walked in silence until Kaede spoke up: "K-Kakashi? I'm okay now, really…"

He looked down at her face. She gave him a worried frown. Was it worry? Or was it fear? Did he really look that mad?

He did his best to soften his look. "That's good to hear," he said as calmly as he could, but his voice was shaking.

He opened the door to her room with some effort without dropping her, and laid her down on the bed.

Kaede sat up immediately. "Kakashi…" She sounded anxious. "They're still trying to find the right way to—"

"They should have thought this through!" said Kakashi, louder than he meant to. Kaede flinched, and he immediately regretted saying that. "I'm sorry," he said a lot more calmly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

Kaede was trembling. She wasn't okay. She was still in shock.

"I'm not angry with you," continued Kakashi. "I'm angry with them. I'm angry with that therapist. I shouldn't have taken it out on you, I'm sorry."

"It's okay," said Kaede carefully. "I'm just… being silly."

"You're in shock," retorted Kakashi, keeping in mind to keep his voice down. "It must have been awful, going through all that…"

"It was," said Kaede. "I felt so miserable back then. Every day, I prayed to the spirits that my life wouldn't go on like that forever."

"You're not there anymore," whispered Kakashi.

"I somehow managed to escape," said Kaede. "I don't know how I did it. I escaped, only to end up in the hands of the next pervert…"

"Stop," said Kakashi. "You're not leading that life anymore, Kaede. You're with me now. And I won't lay a finger on you until you're ready. Even if it takes years, or even if maybe you'll never be ready, I'll always be with you. You understand?"

Kaede suddenly pulled at Kakashi's shoulders, bringing him down to her eye level. Then she pulled down his mask and started a burning hot, passionate kiss. It took a moment for Kakashi to realize what was going on, but now, finally feeling her lips against his again, he could no longer hold back. He leaned his arms next to either side of her for support, deepening the kiss.

He soon came back to reality when he felt her hands traveling down his sides and her fingers closing around the hem of his shirt. Kakashi reacted instantly. He broke the kiss and grabbed her hands, taking them in his own between them.

He gave her a cheeky smirk and said: "Like I said: when you're ready. And don't say you are," he added when Kaede opened her mouth to protest. "You're not. Besides…" He let go of her hands, stood up straight and pulled his mask back up. "I promised not to touch you for the time being. Let's bring that promise back in, shall we?"

"Don't think that I'm not ready, Kakashi!" said Kaede quickly. "I'm more than ready. I—" She stopped, her face flushed. "I mean… Don't laugh at me…"

"I'm not laughing," said Kakashi, though he did find her sudden change of attitude kind of funny.

"I'm serious," said Kaede, a lot more quietly. "Ever since that night by the lake, when you saved my life…"

Kakashi remembered that night all too well. Kaede's alter ego had tried to kill herself and take Kaede with her by drowning herself in a lake on their way here. But he had saved her. And maybe what Kaede also meant was what happened after she realized she was naked. Her alter ego had taken off all her clothing before she entered the lake. Kakashi had taken off his shirt before he went in after her to save her. And after he told the real Kaede this, she had stood with her naked body against his back and asked him if he was physically attracted to her.

This memory had played in his mind over and over again, and every time he remembered the last part of it, he felt that tension again in his manhood. He cut off the memory for now before he would do something stupid and let Kaede finish what she was trying to tell him.

"Since that night," she continued, "I've been dreaming. About us being… intimate." She sighed. "It's embarrassing to talk about it. But the point is, I can only feel good when I'm with you. You've not once given me a reason to question your feelings for me. I really think you can show me that sex can be a good thing, too."

Kakashi blinked. He had not seen this coming.

Kaede stood up. Kakashi reached out to help her, but she shook her head. She stood up and stayed very close in front of him. "Of course I find it scary," she then continued. "But seeing you again after all this time, I find it hard not to touch you."

_Just like me?_

Kakashi slowly reached for the zipper of Kaede's vest and started to pull it down. Kaede's chest rose with a soft gasp, but she remained unmoved. Kakashi opened the vest and slid it down her arms. Kaede shrugged it off and threw it on the bed beside them, then continued to look at Kakashi without moving.

Kakashi looked at the seal on her left shoulder. That must be the seal that was preventing her chakra from leaving her body. He hovered his hand above it. Kaede closed her eyes, her breathing speeding up a bit. But Kakashi didn't go any further than this.

"I'm not going to touch you," he said, and Kaede opened her eyes again. "You just made me promise not to touch you, and I'm still going to keep that promise. You said yourself it's the best for you to avoid distractions."

He bent over to grab her vest. Being very close to her ear by doing so, he whispered: "Don't worry. We'll have plenty of time together after you've finished here." He laid the vest on top of her head with a smirk. "Get some rest. I'll go have a word with Ueno-sensei."

Kaede blushed again – he loved it when she did that – and nodded. "Th-thank you," she then said.

"Hm?" asked Kakashi.

"For not touching me," replied Kaede softly with a faint smile.

Kakashi smiled at her again before he walked out the door. "Later," he said.

"Yeah," replied Kaede, giving him a little wave before Kakashi shut the door behind him.

He took a moment to lean his back against the door, and sighed. _That was close_, he thought. Had he given in, he probably wouldn't have gone easy on her. Which left him with a new thing to worry about: when they would finally do it, would he be able to be gentle with her?

But he shouldn't think about that. Kaede's recovery was what was most important, and these people's methods needed to change. He started striding towards Ueno's office. There were a few things he needed to tell him.

* * *

**A/N: That last part came up overnight. Basically I wrote it because I just love these *kyun* moments between Kakashi and Kaede, but for the plot, let's just say Kaede was proving a point here. :P**

**Thank you so much for reading and for the sweet reviews so far!**


	4. Message to my dear readers :)

Dear readers,

thanks again for reading my story and subscribing to it and everything! Even book 1 is still getting favourites! :D

As most of you surely must have noticed by now, I haven't uploaded any new chapters lately. This was initially due to the final exam stress before I would graduate from college, followed by the ever so feared writer's block. I'm really doing my best to get over it, but too much has happened in my personal life recently, and I've simply not been up to writing, drawing or anything lately.

But of course, since you guys couldn't possibly be aware of my situation, I've received a couple of messages, comments and even DEMANDS for me to upload the next chapter, so I thought: yeah, I should probably just give you guys a message and let you know I'm still alive, and I'm not giving up on this story frenchise. I have too many good ideas for the main leads of these stories, heck, I've already come up with the main plot for book 3! I'm just stuck on this one stupid scene and I can't get it right! .

So anyways, what I'm trying to say is, I don't know when I'll finally get over this writer's block. All I know is that I'm doing my very best to upload the next chapters as soon as possible, now that my life is slowly coming back together again.

I know you've been very patient with me up till now, even during book 1, but still I'd like to ask you guys to have just a little more patience for this one. You guys are the greatest and I feel awful for making you wait this long! I'm very sorry... m(_ _)m

As soon as I finish the next chapter I'll upload it here, and remove this message.

Thank you for understanding and a million thanks to those of you who have been waiting for such a long time and are still with me!

See you guys soon,

~Goddess Hanyuu


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